Loading means for chair lift



United States Patent Inventor Edward M. Thurston 562 Riverside Blvd., Bend, Oreg. 9770] Appl. No. 737,945 Filed June 18, 1968 Patented Dec. 22, 1970 LOADING MEANS FOR CHAIR L111 4 Claims, 4 Drawing Figs.

US. 1041123 Int. 861!) 11/00 Field ofSearch ..104/88, 173

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,853,955 9/ 1958 Bishop et a]. 104/88 3,339,496 9/ l 967 Sneller 104/173 104/173 3,376,829 4/ 1968 Hancock Assistant Examiner-Robert Saifer Attorney- Buckhorn, Blore, Klarquist and Sparkman ABSTRACT: A conveyor for loading skiers on a chair lift, the conveyor being colinear with the chair lift at least during the portion of its length past the loading point. Power means are provided periodically to accelerate the conveyor from zero speed to a speed less than that of the chair lift. Control means are provided to start the conveyor accelerating at a predetermined time before each chair reaches the loading point and to stop the conveyor after the passengers are seated on the chair. A second conveyor may be disposed at an unloading point with power means to drive the second conveyor at a speed greater than that of the chair lift so that passengers alighting from a chair onto the second conveyor will be carried away from the chair. The second conveyor may also be disposed colinearly with the chair lift at least during the portion of its length past the unloading point.

* P ATENTED 05022 I970 3; 548L753 sum 1 nr 2 FIG. 2

EDWARD M. THURSTON INVE/VTUI? BUCKHOR/V, BLORE, KLAROU/ST 8 SPAR/(MAN ATTORNEYS VPATENTED 0&1221970 3.548753 sum 2 UF 2 EDWARD M. THURSTON INVENTOR BY BUCK/10PM BLORE, KLAROU/ST 8 SPAR/(MAN ATTORNEYS LOADING MEANS FOR c IAIR LIFT BACKGROUND or THE INVENTION gers onto and from a chair lift.

Despite the many advances that have been made in ski lift operation anddesign, the loading of skiers onto achair lift continues to be a dangerous and uncertain procedure. Operators of ski areas naturally want to run their lifts at maximum speed in order to accommodate as many skiers as possible. The loading of skiers onto the lifis thus becomes a split second operation with skiers being loaded onto chairs as often as once every 6 seconds.

In the operation of a typical chair lift, a skier positions himself in front of the moving chair at a loading point and possibly upon a platform while he awaits the approach of the chair from the rear. As the chairapproaches the skier, an attendant attempts to assist the skier in seating himself with a minimum of impact. lfhowever the attendant is negligent or unskilled in his duties, it is possible for the chair to hit the skier and knock him down or even off the loading platform, possibly injuring him or at the very least, disrupting the loading operation.

The attendant at the loading station also seeks to maintain a predetermined level of snow on the ground or on the platform, thereby to insure a constant distance between the approaching chair lift and the surface on which the embarking skier stands. If the snow is allowed to pile up too high, the chair will approach the skier too low which makes it difficult for him to sit down properly. n the other hand, if the level of snow is not high enough, the chair will approach the skier too high and may knock him forward, again contributing to the possibility of an injury or at the least, a disruption in operations.

Other difficulties arise when skiers disembark from the chair lift either at an intermediate station along the hill or at the top. Since the lift is traveling relatively rapidly, the skier has to unload from a moving chair and ski away from the lift in a manner that will permit following skiers to do the same. If a skier falls, there generally is a resulting pileup with injuries frequently resulting.

Various means have been suggested toremedy the foregoing difficulties, but none has been successful. In Sneller US. Pat. No. 3,339,496, a crosswise conveyor was disclosed wherein a skier is transported perpendicularly to the path of the chair lift to the loading station, whence he-is seated on the chair and transported up the hill. Such a system, however, tends to produce side sway in the chairs since the skier is loading at an angle thereto. Side sway is always detrimental to a ski lift operation since it tends'to knock the cable off the pulleys. Whenever excessive side sway results, operations must be terminated until the lateral movement diminishes to a safe level.

It is thus the primary object of the present invention to provide a means of loading a chair lift that will enable the lift to be operated more quickly, more efficiently and with greater safety than has been heretofore possible.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a means for loading a ski lift that will make the services of a skilled and experienced loading attendant less important to the loading operation.

It is a still further objectof the present invention to provide a means of unloading a chair lift that will enable the lift to be operated more speedily, more efficiently, and with greater safety than has been possible theretofore.

SUMMARY or THE INVENTION speed to a speed less than that of the chair lift. Control means chair.

are also provided to start the loading conveyor means accelerating at a predetermined time befpre each chair reaches the loading point and to stop the conveyor means afier passengers are seated on each such chair.

A second or unloading conveyor means may be disposed at an unloading point part way along the chair lift or at the end thereof. The unloading conveyor means may also be colinear with the chair lift at least during the portion of its length past the unloading point. Second power means are provided to drive the unloading conveyor means'at a speed not less than that of the chair lift, and preferably greater than that of the chair lift, whereby passengers alighting from a chair onto the unloading conveyor means will be carried away from the J BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to the drawings, FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate the invention installed at the lower end of a ski chair lift at the bottom of a hill, although it will be understood that passengers can be loaded by the apparatus of the-present invention at any loading point along the path of the lift. The invention is further illustrated in conjunction with a chair lift having chairs which hold two passengers apiece, but this is'also not limiting inasmuch as the invention would work equally well in loading chairs holding only one passenger. Furthermore, it will be understood that the invention can beused with other types of ski lifts, such as gondola lifts and surface lifts such as T-bar lifts and platter lifts, and is not restricted to use with a chair lift although it is herein illustrated in conjunction therewith.

FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate a chair lift9 having an endless cable 10 which passes around a bull wheel 11 at the lower end of a ski slope. Chairs 12 are suspended from cable 10 inthe usual manner, traveling empty down the slope in the direction of the arrow 14, around the bull wheel 11, then picking up passengers and traveling up the slope in the direction of the arrow 16.

For automatically loading passengers on the chair lift, a loading conveyor 18 is provided adjacent bull wheel 11 and disposed so that its axis 20 is colinear with the path of the chair lift, that is, colinear with cable 10 at the point 22 at which passengers seat themselves on the chairs. Point 22 will hereinafter be referred to as the loading point for the chair lift.

Conveyor 18 comprises an endless belt 24 passing around a driving drum 26 and an idler drum 28 at opposite ends of the belt. The upper side 29 of belt 24 is capable of carrying skiers standing upright on their skis. Belt 24 travels in the direction of the'arrow 30, as shown in FIG. 2. Power is transmitted to the driving drum 26 by an electric motor 32 through a chain drive 34. Motor 32 is capable of accelerating the belt from a zero speed to a speed somewhat less than the speed of the chair lift, as will be described hereafter. Obviously, power means other than electric motors could be used.

As seen in FIG. 1 in this embodiment of the invention, conveyor 18 runs in a straight line and passes underneath bull wheel 11 so as to be colinear with cable 10 as the passengers seat themselves on the chairs 12 at the loading point 22.

Loading ramps 36 are provided at'the downhill end 38 of conveyor 18, one such ramp 36 being illustrated on each side of conveyor 18, although it should be understood that in certain locations only one ramp 36 need be installed. The ramps 36 may be specially constructed from wood as shown, or they may be prepared merely by appropriate grading of the site in the area concerned.

A controller 40 for motor 32 is provided at a convenient location. A starting switch 42 for conveyor 18 is positioned adjacent the downhill path of cable so that it may be triggered by an arm 44 carried by each chair 12 to start conveyor 18. A stop switch 46 is positioned adjacent conveyor 18 and immediately uphill of loading point 22 so that it also may be triggered by arm 44, thereby to stop conveyor 18. The starting and stopping of conveyor 18 constitute one cycle of its operation and one such cycle occurs as each chair 12 passes around bull wheel 1 l and is loaded with passengers.

In operation, skiers ascend each of the ramps 36 in line in the usual manner, one skier S positioning himself on either side of conveyor 18 at its downhill end 38. At the start of a cycle, conveyor 18 remains stationary for a short period of time sufficient for the two skiers S to step onto the conveyor and take the positions shown in solid lines in FIG. 1.

As the chair 120 on which the skiers S are to sit passes switch 42 on the downhill leg of its journey and before it goes around bull wheel 1], arm 44 triggers switch 42 and starts motor 32. Conveyor 18 is then accelerated from its stationary position (or zero speed) to a speed somewhat less than the rate of travel of chairs 12.

For a chair lift which travels at a rate of speed of 450 feet per minute, a terminal speed of conveyor 18 of 250 feet per minute will normally be satisfactory, but this will be adjustable with respect to the speed of the chair. Conveyor 18 reaches this terminal speed a short distance downhill of loading point 22. Chair 12a is thus able to catch up to the skiers S on the conveyor by the time they reach loading point 22, enabling the skiers to seat themselves on the chair with far less impact than has been heretofore possible.

It is to be understood, of course, that the length of conveyor 18, the time interval during which it accelerates the skiers from their stationary position to their terminal speed on the conveyor, and the position of starting switch 42 are all chosen so that chair 120 can catch up to skiers S at loading point 22.

After skiers S seat themselves on the continuously moving chair 12a, arm 44 triggers stop switch 46 as the chair passes by loading point 22, thereby to stop conveyor 18 and permit the cycle to be repeated. The position of the following chair 12b at the instant conveyor 18 is stopped is as shown in dotted lines in FIG. 1 and is somewhat uphill of switch 42. The relationship between starting switch 42 and stop switch 46 is thus seen to be this: Switch 42 is located along cable 10 a distance away from stop switch 46 less than the interval between the adjacent chairs 12a and 12b. The length of time necessary for chair 12b to travel from its dotted line position in FIG.'1 to the position at which it can trigger switch 42 is thus seen to be the length of time that conveyor 18 is stationary, which of course is the length of time during which the subsequent two skiers have to step onto the conveyor.

A second or unloading conveyor 50 for assisting the skiers S in debarking from chairs 12 is shown in FIG. 3. Unloading conveyor 50 is illustrated installed adjacent the upper bull wheel 52, although it will be understood that passengers can be unloaded by such an unloading conveyor at any point along the path of the lift.

A preferred arrangement is to have the axis 54 of unloading conveyor 50 colinear with cable 10 at least during the portion of the length of the conveyor that is past the unloading point 56.

Conveyor 50 comprises an endless belt 58 passing around a driving drum 60 and an idler drum 62 at opposite ends thereof. The upper side 64 of belt 58 is capable of carrying skiers standing on their skis. Belt 58 travels in the direction of the arrow 66 as shown in FIG. 3. Power is transmitted to the driving drurn 60 by an electric motor 68 through a chain drive 70. Motor 68 drives belt 58 at a speed which in general is not less than that of the chairs 12.

As shown in FIG. 3, unloading conveyor 50 runs in a straight line and passes underneath bull wheel 52 so as to be colinear with cable 10 as the passengers debark from the chairs 12 at the unloading point 56.

Conveyor 50 is run at a speed preferablyslightly in excess of the speed of the chair lift so that as the skiers S step out of a chair 12c at unloading point 56, they will be carried away from the chair by the conveyor. Chair 12c will then travel around bull wheel 52 (which is turning, of course, in the direction of the arrow 72) and commence its journey empty down the hill.

An unloading ramp 74 is provided at the terminal end 76 of conveyor 50 so that as skiers S are transported to the end of conveyor 50, they can ski off onto ramp 74 and thence commence their journey down the hill.

Unloading conveyor 50 need not always be colinear with cable 10, or if it is colinear it need not be colinear during its entire length. It will be preferable to have a portion of the unloading conveyor 50 colinear with cable 10, and preferably this portion should be at the unloading point 56.

In certain situations it may be preferable to run unloading conveyor 50 at a slight angle to cable 10. Such may be the case when the unloading conveyor is disposed intermediate the ends of the chair lift, as for example, at an unloading station midway up the hill. Skiers debarking from chairs and stepping on the conveyor would then experience a slight change in direction, but the greater speed of the conveyor as compared to the speed of the lift would carry them out of the way of succeeding chairs.

FIG. 4 illustrates an alternate embodiment of the invention. As shown, an endless cable passes around a bull wheel 111 at the lower end of the ski slope, chairs 112 being suspended from cable 110 in the usual manner. Chairs 112 travel empty down the slope in the direction of the arrow 114, around the bull wheel 111, picking up passengers and then traveling up the slope in the direction of the arrow 1 16.

For automatically loading passengers on the chair lift, a loading conveyor 118 is provided adjacent bull wheel 11]. Conveyor 118 is segmented to provide skiers S with a nonlinear approach to chairs 112. Three such segments 107, 108 and 109 are shown, although it should be understood that any number of segments to the conveyor may be had, the only requirement being that the last segment 109 be colinear with cable 110 at the point 122 at which the passengers seat themselves on the chairs.

In the foregoing description the invention has been described with reference to certain particular preferred embodiments, although it is to be understood that the specific details shown are merely illustrative and that the invention may be carried out in other ways without departing from the true spirit and scope of the following appended claims.

Iclaim:

1. In combination with a ski lift having:

means suspended from a cable and spaced at substantially regular intervals for elevating skiers along a path at a predetermined speed;

loading conveyor means for carrying said skiers while standing upright on their skis to a loading point where said skiers may be carried by said suspended means;

said loading conveyor means being colinear with said path of said ski lift at least during the portion of its length past said loading point;

power means periodically to accelerate said loading conveyor means from zero speed to a speed less than that of said ski lift;

a starting switch for said power means positioned adjacent the downhill path of said ski lift, said starting switch being adapted to start said power means accelerating said loading conveyor means at a predetermined time before each of said suspended means reaches said ioading point;

a stop switch for said power means positioned adjacent the uphill path of said ski lift immediately uphill of said loading point, said stop switch being adapted to stop said loading conveyor means after a skier is being carried by said suspended means:

said starting switch being located along said cable a distance away from said stop switch less than the interval between said suspended means, thereby to provide for a period of time after said skier is loaded on said suspended means during which said loading conveyor means is stationary to allow a subsequent skier safely to step onto said loading conveyor means; and means positioned on each of said suspended means to trigger each of said switches as each of said suspended means passes by. 2. The combination of claim 1 in which said means to trigger said switches comprises an arm carried by each of said suspended means. 

